Planning. Know very little about effects.

[JayBoog]

Hi, I found this site recently, but have been interested in effects and diy stuff for a while. I won't be able to read through stuff here for the next week or two, and I'm impatient, so I apologise if anything I ask is answered elsewhere. I hadn't really planned this out well so expect rambling.
What I want to know is if anyone has any advice on how I should plan this out. I know very little about effects. The only ones I know I want are sping reverb and fuzz. Tape echo seems cool though, and so does wah and.....

Will DIY stuff be cheaper? I can see it being a bit cheaper because I'd be able to make stuff that is out of print. Also I play bass and guitar, does that make a difference?. And anyway if I enjoy making the pedals it wont matter.
Should I try and buy cheap stuff and mod it or fix it first? I have a brokenish bass amp at the moment, and our singer has no speaker for practice, and I had the idea of making it into a more vocal friendly amp.
Should I plan to do a few effects at once, and buy parts in bulk?
Should I go first for what I think sounds cool, or what I would use most? Or should I just start with easy stuff?

Thanks very much for your time. Sorry again for being so impatient, I'd probably find my questions answered elsewhere. And thanks again.

[R.G.]

There is a reasonably good intro to the background for DIY effects. It's on a web site you'll eventually need to read, so might as well get started.

Go to http://www.geofex.com.
First up, read The Guitar Effects FAQ at http://geofex.com/effxfaq/fxfaq.htm; this was in its third revision in 2000, nearly twelve years ago. It directly addresses some questions you ask. There are a few things that have changed since then, primarily that it's easier to find certain parts. But the economics and other things are still accurate.

[LucifersTrip]

There is a reasonably good intro to the background for DIY effects. It's on a web site you'll eventually need to read, so might as well get started.

Go to http://www.geofex.com.
First up, read The Guitar Effects FAQ at http://geofex.com/effxfaq/fxfaq.htm;  But the economics and other things are still accurate.

yes, except for the $15 stomp switch (now $3-4)...ahhha.... geofex.com is a killer site. don't miss it!

my suggestion for the impatient is to get your hands dirty right off, then read more into the details.
pick up a $3 breadboard, a bunch of clip leads, a few cheap transistors, resistors, capacitors, maybe diodes and a couple jacks. you can have a blast with loads of different distortions and fuzzes with just a few parts on  breadboard.

breadboard:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1X-700-Points-Solderless-PCB-Bread-Board-Breadboard-Electronic-Components-A29-/180811537169?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a19351b11

do google/youtube/instructables searches for breadboard fuzz or breadboard distortion and go to town

here one very good link
http://www.beavisaudio.com/techpages/SchematicToReality/

good luck

[R.G.]

yes, except for the $15 stomp switch (now $3-4)...ahhha.... geofex.com is a killer site. don't miss it!

Yeah - that's one thing that's changed for the better, all right! Even more so, there are now places that offer parts pre-selected to be useful in effects. That was not true the early Wild West effects days!   

[JayBoog]

Thanks to everyone. I'll go and look through all that stuff now. I like the sound of the breadboard a lot.